Fancier than a typical Wilson Trade gun, this Chief's Grade Trade Gun is stocked in maple, and fitted with a 20 gauge tapered octagon-to-round 41-1/2" barrel. Hand finished from parts by Danny Caywood, the maple stock is finished to a warm brown tone. The barrel is finished a brown with a silvery under tone, to match the flintlock, buttplate and triggerguard. As is proper on such a gun brass furniture has been mixed in, the sideplate and ramrod pipes are all brass. Weighing in at 7.3 pounds the gun has a trigger reach of 14-1/8", and is properly set up for today's larger sized shooter. This Trade Gun is used and has many, many handling marks on the stock as well as some normal wear on the brown finish from firing and cleaning.
The 20 gauge 41-1/2" octagon- to-round barrel is finished to a brown with a silvery-gray patina at the breech and areas that are frequently handled, giving it an antique appearance. The barrel transitions from eight flats to sixteen flats during the first 7-1/2" before turning fully round with two wedding bands. The bore is bright, clean, and ready to shoot. Use lead shot in this 20 gauge barrel, for upland game, and clay targets. We strongly recommend the new Bismuth bird shot, which is legal for waterfowl, and is as simple to load as lead shot, and is safe in muzzle loading guns. We do not recommend loading steel shot. Use patched round ball for big game hunting. A brass blade front sight is soldered 3" behind the muzzle. No rear sight is fitted in fowling gun fashion. The top flat is stamped LONDON near the breech. The left side flat of the barrel is stamped Black Powder Only Read Instructions Before Use.
The buttplate is not the plain flat brass buttplate found on common trade guns. Instead a fancy French fowler style buttplate is fitted. This more elaborate buttplate has two oval-head wood screws to retain it in the stock. The comb of the buttplate has some stylized cast-in engraving, as well as a bow and quiver in the traditional style. Such buttplates were a bit more expensive and difficult to inlet, and so they were reserved for use on the higher grade trade guns. The straight tang of the breech plug is surrounded by a raised beaver tail carving. Notice the long baluster wrist, which extends from the rounded toe of the buttplate and blends into lock panels ahead of the wrist. This is the classic flint fowling gun architecture of the late 1700's period.
The steel triggerguard is manufactured from a single sheet of steel, surfaced mounted with screws in traditional fashion. The front screw is also correctly installed, it is fitted upside down, or rather from the bottom, threaded into the tang from below. Notice the ball end finials, exactly as found on Wilson trade guns. The ramrod is held in place by three corrugated ramrod pipes. No entry pipe has been used on this gun, in typical Trade Gun fashion. The ramrod in the trade gun is shaped with a jagged flared end with 8-32 threads, the opposite end is blank. The brass sideplate is the traditional serpent, with an extra third screw to retain the tail. See the book, Colonial Frontier Guns, sold separately, for nice photos of a fine original Wilson's Trade Gun.
The Caywood flint lock is finished to a dark brown with a silvery-gray undertone. The round faced lock plate has cast in engraving, with the bow and quiver theme repeated. This lock is similar to flint locks found on higher grade English fowlers. Behind the pan a slotted vent liner has been installed and finished flush with the barrel. The single trigger provides a smooth release of the lock.
This 20 gauge smoothbore is ready for your Colonial or Revolutionary War impression. It will also be a joy to carry in the field for your next bird hunt. The bore is bright, clean, and ready to shoot! Order it for a ten day visual inspection. You will be delighted. Else if it does not fit you, return it in unfired condition for same-day refund. Postage is your only risk, when you order any one-of-a-kind gun from Track, whether new, used, or antique.
